USING GIS TECHNIQUES AND GEOTAGGING TO ASSESS TOURISM DENSITY AND ATTRACTIVENESS IN THE CITY OF IASI, ROMANIA

 

Alexandra Cehan¹, Mihai Bulai^2*, Lucian Roșu³

¹ MSc, Department of Geography, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of  Iași, ROMANIA, alexandracehan@gmail.com

² PhD. Lecturer, Department of Geography, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of  Iași, ROMANIA, mihaibulai@yahoo.com

³ PhD., Department of Geography, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of  Iași, ROMANIA, luci_r2003@yahoo.com

*Corresponding author

 

Abstract

This paper uses GIS techniques to spatially define tourism areas in a post-socialist city and consequently identify the different levels of tourism density. Starting from the idea that the main factors defining tourism phenomena are attractions, accommodation and catering services, this paper analyses the way in which these components interact spatially. Accessibility, which plays a significant role in determining spatial attractiveness has been added and calculated as the distance to points of interests and service locations from the road junctions. The analysis of aspects of density and proximity related to the points of interest provides a cartographic image of tourism areas. The use of ascendant hierarchical classification method has revealed a typology of tourism space, being seen as the interaction between attractions and services. The application of the method on the case study – the city of Iași, Romania, has provided the distribution of different levels of tourism attractiveness in the analysed territory from multiple points of view and as well an image of the spatial distribution and particular characteristics of each area within the city. The tourism pattern of eastern European city is strongly related to the core-periphery model, as almost the entire tourism industry is clustered in the city centre. The typology of the analysed space within the city centre of the case study reveals high concentration of attractiveness along main pedestrian streets (a linear spatial distribution) with a middle core highly dense in attractions, but deprived of tourism services. This deprivation, together with a long-term restoration of many central attractions indicates a low consumption of the core areas, indicating certain transit behaviour of the tourists flows. The results emphasize a certain diversification of the tourism space, this kind of results, obtained for different territorial units, being useful as a tool for local stakeholders and decision makers in urban tourism planning, but also for tourists that strive to maximize their experience.

Keywords: Urban Tourism, GIS tools, tourism density, tourism attractiveness, tourism areas, geo-tags